Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Have you ever gone out to dinner and been seated near a family with little kids? Your first thought was probably "%@!#%, why do I always get stuck next to the crazy families??"

Well, tonight, we were that crazy family in the middle of the restaurant. And for future reference, just because you may have the same number of adults as babies at the table doesn't necessarily mean you are equally matched for the event.

All in all, it was a learning experience in many ways. So, without further ado, here are a few key lessons we'd like to pass along to others who may be contemplating a similar "adventure":

• Always have a backup sippy cup on hand. Fortunately, this time we did, as Tyler was very intrigued with the squishiness of his styrofoam kid's cup. In other words, no sippy cup equals one very milk-soaked toddler.

• If a little bowl of red sauce arrives with the kid's meal, remove it from the plate before the toddler spots it. We failed on this one. Watching him dunk the first noodle in it was cute. Watching him squish the rest of his meal into the little ketchup-filled bowl then proceed to "paint" the table was not.
  

• If you order fettucini that has peas in it, and your toddler loves peas, don't give him a taste of your meal - unless you want to spend the rest of your time spearing peas with your fork for the demanding pea-lover (who doesn't like anything else on your plate).
  

• Always keep a backup bottle of formula handy for the wee one. If you read my previous post, you know that milk can sometimes make an angry baby happy. Well, it didn't really work so well this time, but it did buy us a little time.
  

• If angry baby won't stop crying unless he's being held, let the fastest eater eat first... then trade off the baby and let the slower eater eat their meal. That way everyone has a good chance to eat while their meal is at least a little bit warm.
  

• If the toddler drops a big piece of bread on the floor, and you put it back on the table to help prevent the area from looking like a complete warzone, put the bread far enough out of hubby's reach so he doesn't mistake it for a simple toddler reject that must be consumed. (Sorry, Jeff!)
  

• And finally, chug a glass of red wine with the meal. It really does make everything just a little bit easier...

Fortunately, at least two of the couples seated near us were understanding and did proceed to "ooo" and "ahhh" over the little guys... but I still couldn't help feeling we were at risk of getting a standing ovation from everyone else in the place when we finally got up to leave.

But, despite the chaos, we did get a full meal in, Tyler left without getting any of it in his hair, and Austin made it home without completely losing his temper. So, I guess that still counts as a successful night out, right?

The Angry Baby, Tornado Tyler. and Our Crazy World...

Welcome to our new blog - where you can learn the latest about our crazy little lives...

So, let's start by catching you up on what's happened so far. Jeff and I have 2 babies. One is now 16 months old (Tornado Tyler), and the other is 2 months old (Angry Austin). We also share our home with two bouncy, shaggy bearded collies (Max & Loki) who are both quite over the whole baby thing.

Tyler is what I assume to be a typical toddler boy. He toddles everywhere... and into anything in his way. In fact, just in time for today's picture day at school (daycare), Tyler got to sport a fresh gash on his cheek from toddling right off a toy the day before. This is in addition to the bruise on his other cheek from flipping head first into his dump truck a few days earlier. The other marks covering his face most likely originated during one of his toddles into the wall, or the table, or a dog... you get the idea, I'm sure!

From almost the moment he was born, Tyler has been a very happy (and independent) baby... Now that he's older, he's a little moodier of course - but overall, he's probably destined to be the class clown.

Austin, on the other hand, is Tyler's polar opposite. He's much more demanding, a bit more unsatisfied with his life as a baby, and generally more interested in being held and coddled than swinging in a swing or playing on a playmat.

Before Tyler graduated to Toddlerville at daycare, he shared the infant room with a baby named Elizabeth. Cute as she is, she also likes to cry a lot. So much, in fact, that it wasn't uncommon to hear her referred to as the "Angry Baby".

So, in our little world, we affectionately refer to Austin as our own little "Angry Baby". His role is playing mommy's boy to Tyler's daddy's boy... and unlike Tyler's potential future as class clown, Austin may very well be our quieter, more sensitive son.

And that's where the intro ends and this story begins...